Dangerous Dog Act 2017
It’s against the law to let a dog be dangerously out of control anywhere, such as:
Some types of dogs are banned.
Out of control
Your dog is considered dangerously out of control if it:
A farmer is allowed to kill your dog if it’s worrying their livestock.
Penalties
You can get an unlimited fine or be sent to prison for up to 6 months (or both) if your dog is dangerously out of control. You may not be allowed to own a dog in the future and your dog may be destroyed.
It’s against the law to let a dog be dangerously out of control anywhere, such as:
- in a public place
- in a private place, eg a neighbour’s house or garden
- in the owner’s home
- The law applies to all dogs.
Some types of dogs are banned.
Out of control
Your dog is considered dangerously out of control if it:
- injures someone
- makes someone worried that it might injure them
- A court could also decide that your dog is dangerously out of control if either of the following apply:
- it attacks someone’s animal
- the owner of an animal thinks they could be injured if they tried to stop your dog attacking their animal
A farmer is allowed to kill your dog if it’s worrying their livestock.
Penalties
You can get an unlimited fine or be sent to prison for up to 6 months (or both) if your dog is dangerously out of control. You may not be allowed to own a dog in the future and your dog may be destroyed.
- If you let your dog injure someone you can be sent to prison for up to 5 years or fined (or both). If you deliberately use your dog to injure someone you could be charged with ‘malicious wounding’.
- If you allow your dog to kill someone you can be sent to prison for up to 14 years or get an unlimited fine (or both).
- If you allow your dog to injure an assistance dog (eg a guide dog) you can be sent to prison for up to 3 years or fined (or both).
